Unknown Travelers A Series of Drabbles
by plasticphoenix
Summary: A series of drabbles on Prince Zuko and Katara.
1. Actions, Distracted, & Return of Tatics

**Unknown Travelers; A Series of Drabbles   
plasticphoenix **

_(I: Actions, Distracted, and Return of Tactics)_

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He had to be distracted and she had little on her to work with; a smooth stone she had absence mindedly placed in her left pocket yesterday and the crushed remains of the childish daisy chain for Momo in the other; all useless against the enemy. He was taller than she was and although she was far from the fragile female he was accustom too he was still stronger. Her canteen was gone, there were no water sources near and his bending skills were still much better and deadlier. She had nothing to arm herself with but wit.

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He was confident and his cockiness warmed itself in his smile. He had won. The Avatar was caught, unconscious, gagged, and bounded in iron chains. Despite the bravery that she carried with her (bravery he almost admired) the blue eyed water-bender was not a threat. This night he would not be defeat. His honor would be restored and his guilty conscience silence by the sight of his homelands. He was on the verge of informing her of her futile attempts and would have likely done so with great pleasure had she not quickly thrown her arms around his neck and kissed him in the dark.

-----

He was surprised by her actions and even more so when he return her tactics.

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**Quick** **Notes:**

A series of drabbles because I'm lazy. If you like I'll continue. If you want the empty task of beta I'll love you or give you cookies. Flames will be returned to senders.

**Disclaimer**: Nick owns but no one here really cares.


	2. Burning Wood and Dying Embers

**Unknown Travelers; A Series of Drabbles **

**plasticphoenix**

_(II: Burning Wood and Dying Embers )_

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He made her a promise by the dying embers of a campfire. A sleepy promise made behind drowsy lids and a brief yawn. Under the fall sky, beneath a blanket of far away stars, he gave her his word that he couldn't leave her...

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The pale moon and dancing flames had illuminated her face before the promise was made. She had wrapped her small frame in the warm embrace of her fur coat and smiled a tired smile at him as he listened to the familiar hissing of the burning wood. She was drowsy with fatigue (much like him) but not ready to admit it. They had travel a fairly large distance that day in an awkward silence; he was not big on conversation and she hardly felt talkative.

They made camp after they'd tripped over a protruding tree root, evident that it was too late to push forward. She had stifled her giggles behind her sleeve and he tried not to be offended. Together they gathered nearby twigs, bark, and sticks; piling the pitiful amount of dry wood together, he lit the fire with little effort. The burning flames offered welcomed warmth in the chilly night and he once again quietly missed his homeland, where it was always warm.

She hardly seemed bother by the night's chill but he offered her his coat and she politely reclined his offer; reminding him she was accustom to cold weather. He shrugged, said nothing else and poked at the burning lumber and flickering flames.

She had yawned when the fire began to die; she was too tired for manners or to feel shy and thus leaned her hooded head against him. He felt slightly flushed but he too was too exhausted to feel self-conscious. He gave the fire once lasting lingering look before closing his own eyes.

He was near sleep when she asked; she spoke so quietly he almost hadn't heard. "Promise me you won't leave without me," she had asked and in response he shook his left arm; making the _Bonding Chains_, that the elderly priestess had forced on them the day before, chaining them together, to briefly rattle.

"I promise I _can't_ leave without you," he said because he was tired and she fell asleep laughing at his honesty.

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**Story Notes:**

This one took me three hours; too long for a story so short. I'm too lazy to come up with a length explanation for the chains; just assume long ago a fire-bender and a water-bender ticked off this peasant village and Zuko and Katara are punished for the sins of their distant kin. Together, they must reach a ruined shrine deep in the wilderness in four days and make offerings (of fire and water; not dead critters) to the shrine's elder's spirit. Which is really just a cleaver ruse drummed up by a wise priestess to make them understand each other. -- Yeah, that works for me. -- 

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**Other Notes:**

I've been thinking about putting up story bits in my live journal (link in my profile); not necessary Avatar related but you're welcome to check it out. Lastly, chickygurl I accepted your offer of beta reader.

**Disclaimer**: Nick owns but no one here really cares.


	3. Chivalry or Something Like It

**Unknown Travelers; A Series of Drabbles **

**plasticphoenix**

(_III: Chivalry...or Something Like It_)

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She stood perched awkwardly uncomfortable on top of the stone wall. She maintained a careful teeter-totter of tiptoes in satin slippers and a grateful gathering of teal and turquoise silk robes in hands, wrinkling the material but keeping it from becoming snagged on unfriendly branches of different sorts and allowing her to move. She was unhappy with her current situation and had let all those involved know as much. She had unfairly but democratically been selected to wear the ceremonial gown as she was the only girl and none of her male counterparts had been willing to dress in drag and impersonate a shrine maiden.

She had lost the elaborate headdress while fleeing for a group of guards and unpleased worshippers and she mentally apologized to the actual shrine girl they had _borrowed _it from. She did hope the girl wouldn't be punished and she had tried to explain this to the bewildered priest as she smashed a ceremonial vase into the back of his skull. It was nothing personal against the priest but they needed to use his private passageway between the temple and palace but he hadn't fount it in his heart to grant them permission and she had had the vase on hand...Really, she hoped he would be okay too.

She supposed in the bigger scheme of things that these were to be considered trivial things and what really matter was escaping and further things of that nature.

"Katara, unless you're purposely waiting for our cheery friends back there I suggested you hurry up!"

She glared at Sokka, who carried the unconscious Aang on his back; very much like a pack mule as her brother had so sarcastically pointed out when it was still daylight. She agreed with her brother completely; the similarity between him and an ass were very uncanny.

It was not that she was purposely holding them back, the layered gown was quiet heavy and she had no intentions of ruining it now. The gown when sold to a market merchant was sure to fetch a fine price. She had no need for her older kin's sarcasm and obvious observations and he would not be complaining later when food was bought from the money the gown earned.

The wall she was standing on was not high but it did cause some troubling problems when trying to climb down in fancy clothing while keeping your dignity and clothing in tact. She had a nasty retort for her brother but as for getting down...well..._that might work_.

---

Zuko impatiently and forever annoyed by her, stood directly beneath Katara (having already scaled the insufficient wall with ease) with his arms extended towards her.

'_Well, this is unusual and out of character,' _she thought to herself. Surely he wasn't offering her assistance. That was not how their relationship (if it could be called that) work. He was the arrogant jerk who had become somewhat tolerable over the past two months (as Sokka put it: "he's not trying to kill us anymore") but she mostly ignored him and he only acknowledged her when he absolutely had too.

She said nothing of this and merely nodded. She could all to easily hear the malicious sounds of armed guards chaotically filling the night. Apparently rescuing sacrifices (even if they were close friends) in this village was considered offensive and roughing up their idiot king in Aang's defense was equally looked upon as a shameful act. If caught they would be tortured, maimed, and beheaded. They locals had pretty much told them so in their cries of punishment as they escaped. Help was help and she took his help

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If anyone had asked and no one ever did, she would have explained that moment as an odd sort of arrangement. She placed her hands on his shoulders and her hands felt rather small in comparison. The teal sleeves of the borrowed gown dropped over her hands and brushed against his face and she felt a bizarre and unwelcome flutter in her chest when he wrapped his own hands around her waist. Her mind wondered freely like a misbehaved child and she fount herself idly thinking about his hands.

She thought they would be callused from intense training and perhaps one of his palms scarred from his younger and more mischief days. His nails would be short but unlike her brother, who chewed his short, his would be trimmed and well kept because a person's hands tell part of their story.

He gently but quickly pulled her down, like a mother bring her unskilled climber down out of tree before gravity did it for him. The moment her feet touched the harden soil everything became surreal. They're bodies were so close together she could feel his hasten breath against her face. Once again her heart flutter and she mentally willed it to be silent. Time seemed to move a little slower than it's proper pace because her hands remained on his shoulders and his hands, the same hand she had briefly fantasized (oh, she did not like that word) stayed in place around her waist. Their eyes meet and she thought him a handsome-sort- of-jerk (_silly stupid brain, _she mentally cursed it all) and as odd as it was he leaned down towards her and she lift her face forward in union...

Bam!

The sounds of the soldiers drew closer and time caught up with night. They quickly withdrew from each other and they ran to the near by lagoon were Appa and Iroh were lazily (but worried too) waiting. There was no time for thank you or anything else that might have been said or expressed and she was too concerned about the soldiers closing in to acknowledge the fact she and the jerk had kissed.

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**Story Notes: **

Maybe this is too long to be consider a drabble but there is no story there for it too support it as a single. As for the sacrifice thing I can't put too much thought in to it. This took four hours. Let's say some loony king got it in his head if he made a sacrifice out of the Avatar everything would be peachy keen. Perhaps he thinks it will make him a god or give him the power to single handily defeat the Fire Nation. Which would basically mean the same thing. Also Iroh became Aang's Fire Master and Zuko around because he's a sex kitten. --works for me-- 

**Author Notes:**

I haven't been slacking off. I ended up with half a drabble featuring Zula that was suppose to be the third chapter for this and I also wrote a future story featuring Zuko and his two adorable bickering children. Both, for the curious are posted in my live journal (homepage link in my profile). If you don't want to read my other post check out my memories they'll be there.

**Disclaimer: Nick owns but no one here really cares.**


	4. Dizzy Ditz Ditty

**Unknown Travelers; A Series of Drabbles  
plasticphoenix **

_(IV: Dizzy Ditz Ditty)_

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She was terribly dizzy but luckily the kind stranger was nice enough to support her staggering form. He all but carried her along the long maze of uneven halls and unnecessary corridors hidden underneath the dank Fire Nation fortress. She never asked who he was because the only thing she really needed to know about him was he was a firebender...

That and she really wasn't capable of forming rational or intelligent thoughts. Mostly she just thought about her headache and the stench of her current location. She also thought the place could use some paint and nice tapestries (surely the greedy Fire Nation could afford it) and had tried to discuss this with her new friend but every time she tried to start a conversation he made a gesture for her to be silent. She thought this was rather rude but declined to press the matter. Instead she held a private imaginary conversation as he dragged her along:

"_My, the interior is dreadful," she said to imaginary him._

"_Yes," imaginary him said "you'd think as rich as the Fire Nation is they could afford to brighten the place up. A nice coat of paint would do marvels."_

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If he had been polite enough to ask (maybe he was just shy) she would have shared her many woes with him. She would have told him today had not been a good day for her; Momo had nearly drowned, her map was stolen, Aang had caught a cold, a bear tried to eat her brother, and then she lost a duel to _another_ royal member of the Fire Nation. Truthfully, the only thing that had actually happened was the last bit and that had actually happened yesterday. She had been unconscious and dreamed up the rest.

She watched the flame flickering so brilliantly in his right palm with interest. She was a waterbender and water was naturally her element but as she watched the flame in her dazed state she couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to control fire. It was so pretty, after all.

Most of her experience with firebending had been her many encounters with the soldiers of the Fire Nation. She had even dueled with their Prince at the North Pole and nearly won until the Sun, the glorious friend of the flames, rose. She hardly thought it fair. Of course she had also duel his sister and lost but decided not to dwell on it incase it lead to an unbreakable chain of defeats.

The only other encounter had been when Aang had tried to rush his bending skills and burnt her. It had hurt like hell but she discovered she had the ability to heal with water and so no real harm was done. They were still friends. But still she wished she were a firebender.

Then she could teach Aang and they wouldn't have to ambush another crazy hermit.

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She made a fuzzy note (once, again) that her rescuer wore a mask, that is if he was really her rescuer. He could be lending her to another member of the Fire Nation army that was so not friends with the mean princess; freeing her from one cage to lock her up in another.

"_That's not very nice," _She thought unhappily.

She was about to say such but when she nearly tripped he kept her from falling so she decided to give him a fair chance.

Maybe he was cute under that mask.

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"_Wonder why he wears a mask,_" she wondered.

What kind of hero hides his face? She wondered if wore a mask because he was ugly and ashamed of his large nose. She hoped not. Maybe his ears were lopsided and his eyes too close together. Perhaps he had misplaced all his teeth instead. She could certainly understand why he wore a mask now. "_I would too. No one would take a toothless hero with lopsided ears seriously_;" she thought but was quickly feed another idea by her wandering mind.

"_Maybe he has to keep his identity a secret."_

That seemed reasonable and cool. Secret identities were fun. He was a firebender saving the prisoner of the Fire Nation's princess. Yup, perfect sense. He was probably a wanted criminal because he wasn't a criminal. Gasp. Could her rescuer be the Blue Spirit that all the Fire Nation folk were going on about? She thought this until she noticed his mask wasn't blue. Damn. It was dark blue. The Wanted poster never mentioned a reward for information or the capture of the Dark Blue Spirit.

He was just ugly.

This disappointed her so. Although she didn't consider herself a shallow person she didn't much care for the idea that her hero was not properly dashing and swoon worthy. After all, she was taught that a handsome prince always saves damsels in distress and that a reward kiss was a highly known requirement in being rescued. It was part of the whole package. She wasn't shallow but she didn't want to kiss a prince so ugly that he hides behind a mask in shame. No, she would not kiss an ugly prince. If he wouldn't play by the rules then neither would she. "_Stupid ugly prince," _she thought bitterly. First the bear and now this.

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Prince...

Hmm, prince...

How many princes did she know anyway? Four, five, twenty maybe? Nope, too many. Just one. Just Zuko.

Zuko had beat her at the North Pole when the sun rose because firebenders are more powerful in the sun...

Firebender...

Prince...

Gasp!

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Zuko wondered if he should have just let his sister use the water peasant for Avatar bait. He was practically carrying her sluggish body and he was growing tired of it and her constant random questions and nonsensical muttering. She had asked him about a pastel color scheme for the fortress and when he didn't answer she carried on a conversation about it by herself. She had babbled on and on about her companions and bears eating her brother (this he did find slightly amusing). Then she started asking about his mask:

_Why are you wearing a mask... Are you ugly...Do you look like a toothless lizard... Are you a fugitive... The Blue Spirit...No...You're just ugly... Don't lie...Tell me, the truth... I'm so sorry...We can't all be pretty...If we were all pretty then no one would be pretty because there wouldn't be any ugly people for comparison because everyone was pretty._

The only thing that kept him front turning around and delivering her back to Zula was it was too damn far and too much like work coming up with an apologize. He decided to mentally count as loudly as possible in an effort of drowning her out as he walked them to freedom, so for the most part he missed her obsessive ramble about handsome princes and kisses. Lucky him.

He had only reached two hundred when she poked him rather cruelly in the gut and stated in an air that his sister would almost envy, that she didn't care if he was the un-ugly prince of the whole damn Fire Nation. He was mean and he would not be getting a kiss from her today. Well, maybe just one and _only_ on his cheek.

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**Author Notes: **Welcome to my half-assed attempt at humor. I know it's not funny. People only laugh at me not with me. I apologize in advance for the disappointed customer but I swear on my dead hamster's grave that I tried several attempts at a serious fourth chapter. I even present evidence A to the kangaroo court, a drib of an intended fourth drabble in my livejournal. I had fun writing this even if you didn't have fun reading. No, flames necessary, all the snow is almost gone.

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**Disclaimer**: Nick owns but no one cares.


	5. Every Girl Evolution

**Unknown Travelers; A Series of Drabbles  
plasticphoenix **

_(V: Every Girl Evolution)_

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They were all little girls. Little girls, who fought, kicked, spit and screamed. Girls who played with fire, girls who sharpened ice, and girls who made the earth shake. Girls who missed their mothers, girls who disobeyed, girls that ran away to the circus, girls that yawned in your face, and girls that hate their big brother because daddy told them to.

They were little girls who abandon their mother's laps and dolls along time ago, they were girls who went and made war. Dressed in silk and bloody knees; they all chose sides and started to play with sticks and stones to break each others bones.

They went on playing together badly until Zuko interrupted the game with love and spoiled all their violent fun.

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**Author Notes: **Short and sweet; there above is drabble number five. XOXO. Little girls play just as mean as little boys.

**Disclaimer**: Nick owns but no one cares.


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